Saturday, February 22, 2014

Thank you anonymous friend, for sending this one in. It is very interesting stuff, with a photo of Charles Manson, Jr. Patty had never seen before.

Fighting Your Family's Demons
By Annika Young
The 700 Club

CBN.com: In the ring, Jason Freeman knew he had to be
disciplined, focused and fearless. "The only thing that could beat me was the other
guy, and it wasn't going to happen."
Like most fighters in the mixed martial arts world, Jason had a nickname. His was
Charlie Manson III, a name he inherited from his dad. He was Charles Manson Jr. and
I knew that Charlie Manson, Sr. was my grandfather. It was to be kept quiet, under a
rug.
His parents never married. Jason lived with his mother and stepfather who raised
him. His biological father kept his distance. As the son of a notorious killer, he
was fighting his own battles with depression and a drug addiction. "Earliest
memories were mainly phone conversations and pictures that he sent and Christmas
gifts. I don't know if he just realized that I was fine; I was taken care of, that
he didn't think he needed to be there."
One night Jason's father checked out on him for good. He killed himself when Jason
was a freshman in high school. Despite their splintered relationship, Jason took his
father's death very hard. "I blamed my father's suicide on my grandfather. Jason
poured those emotions into high school football and wrestling. "I knew that my anger
needed to be directed in a positive manner."
Still, Jason's ties to the Manson family name haunted him, and he swore to break the
cycle of drugs and violence. But his hair-trigger temper was working against him.
"People knew I could fight. I would fight. I didn't have a problem with fighting.
When I was provoked, I knew I could hurt somebody and I didn't want to hurt nobody."
As an adult, he found another way to vent his anger... through mixed martial arts.
But to make money, he started selling drugs, and soon started using them, too.
Jason felt the consequences of his actions. "When you're on drugs that make your
family not want to be around you or not like you, you don't fit in. You get mixed
up into whatever kind of drug it is to hide yourself from reality. You're in a box.
You don't know how to get out."
Eventually, Jason was arrested and convicted for drug trafficking. His worst fear
had come true. "I just - I don't want to fail. (I) seen it all around me, all my
life."
He asked God to help. "Laid in bed probably for hours just crying and just asking
for forgiveness and help; help to understand, give me some wisdom to realize the
path I'm on isn't the right path."

He found a Bible, but wasn't sure where to begin. He met someone who helped. "There
was an ordained minister in there for relapsing back on crack cocaine. I started
asking questions and I said, 'I don't know where to start in this long Book, this
Bible.' He said 'Well, just you know, read John. Everybody starts at John.' He
prayed over me. I accepted Jesus in my heart. At that point I wanted to walk a
different path."
He took the first step. "I went straight to the Bible and I ran every day. I stayed
focused on myself. I stayed focused on understanding why I'm in here."
Jason served his time. He also met and married Audrey. He says on his journey of
faith, she helped him every step of the way. "I didn't know for the longest time
which way was up or down and I can honestly say when I met my wife, Audrey, it's
been a rough road, but she made me who I am today."
In 2011, he decided to step out of the ring for good. Jason remembers his
conversation with God on the night of his last fight. "I was asking Him, 'Why am I
out here?' He said, 'I built a stage up underneath of you to speak off of and reach
others.'"
Now he talks to kids about how to avoid the mistakes he made. He says with God's
help he's been off the drugs and his anger is in check. He and Audrey are raising
three boys and working on leaving a legacy founded on faith in God. "I got my whole
family. I love it."
The kid with the notorious family ties has found his purpose through his faith in
Jesus Christ. "Once people get to know me for me and not the name, I carry my own
weight. I feel God moves through me like He moves through a lot of people. And if
that name somehow attracts attention over to my corner, then I've got something
positive to speak about."

The key impact of both crimes is that Conspiracy to Commit Murder and Felony Murder do not require the defendant to actually kill anyone or even be present when someone is murdered to be guilty of murder. That, of course, rather obviously is directed at Charles Manson.